Real-World Examples

What You’ll Find Here

This section features real-world examples from leading companies demonstrating human factors principles in action. Each example includes:

• The Principle - Core concept being applied
• Implementation Details - Specific design decisions and rationale
• Quantitative Metrics - Measured impact (completion rates, time savings, satisfaction scores)
• Human Standards Connection - Links to our documentation and MCP validation rules
• Code Examples - Practical implementations you can adapt

Why Examples Matter

Theory is valuable, but seeing principles applied makes them actionable. These examples show:

1. Proof of Impact - Real metrics from production systems
2. Design Decisions - The “why” behind implementation choices
3. Business Value - How human factors drive measurable outcomes
4. Implementation Patterns - Code you can adapt for your projects

Examples by Category

Cognitive Load Reduction

Progressive Disclosure - TurboTax

How breaking a 100+ field tax form into simple questions reduced completion time by 30% and help requests by 45%.

Read case study →

Smart Defaults - iOS Camera

How Apple’s Camera app uses intelligent defaults to eliminate decisions and deliver great photos automatically for billions of users.

Read case study →

Defensive Design & Error Prevention

Defensive Design - Gmail Undo Send

How Gmail’s “Undo Send” feature prevents email mistakes and reduces regret through forgiveness over permission.

Read case study →

Error Prevention - Grammarly

How Grammarly’s real-time error detection prevents mistakes during writing, achieving 86% error reduction vs. no validation.

Read case study →

Accessibility & Inclusive Design

Keyboard Navigation - BBC

How BBC’s keyboard-first navigation ensures digital services are accessible to everyone, achieving 98% keyboard task completion.

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Feedback & System Status

System Feedback - Stripe Dashboard

How Stripe’s dashboard provides clear, immediate feedback that builds user confidence through transparent status communication.

Read case study →

Coming Soon

More examples are being added regularly. Future categories include:

• Contextual Help - In-context guidance (Slack)
• Recognition Over Recall - Visual browsing (Spotify)
• Consistency - Platform standards (Apple HIG, Material Design)
• User Control - Customization (YouTube playback controls)
• Affordances - Visual cues for interaction (Material Design)
• Data Visualization - Dashboard design (Grafana, Datadog)

Using Examples with Human Standards MCP

Each example shows how to query the Human Standards MCP server for guidance. The MCP acts as a reference book that AI tools consult while building interfaces:

// Example: Building a complex form - query relevant heuristics
const errorPrevention = await mcp.callTool('get_heuristic', { id: 'H5' });
// Returns: Error Prevention - validation, confirmations, constraints

const errorRecovery = await mcp.callTool('get_heuristic', { id: 'H9' });
// Returns: Help users recover from errors - clear messages, solutions

// Search for form-specific patterns in Human Standards docs
const formDocs = await mcp.callTool('search_standards', { query: 'forms' });
// Returns: Form design patterns, validation timing, cognitive load

The MCP server encodes proven patterns from Nielsen’s 10 Usability Heuristics and Human Standards documentation, allowing AI tools to look up relevant principles based on context.

How to Apply These Patterns

1. Before Building

• Read the example to understand the principle
• Check the metrics to see potential impact
• Query the MCP server for component-specific guidance

2. During Implementation

• Use the code examples as starting points
• Follow the design decisions documented in the case study
• Reference Human Standards docs for deeper understanding

3. After Building

• Validate with MCP to check compliance
• Measure metrics to quantify your impact
• Test with users to confirm improvements

Metrics Guide

Examples include different types of metrics:

Metric Type	What It Measures	Example
Task Completion Rate	% of users who successfully complete task	68% → 87% (+19pp)
Time on Task	How long tasks take	45 min → 31 min (30% faster)
Error Rate	Frequency of user mistakes	15% → 5% errors
Help Requests	% of users needing support	18% → 10% (-45%)
User Satisfaction	Subjective experience rating	3.2/5 → 4.4/5 (+38%)
Conversion Rate	% who complete desired action	2.5% → 3.8% (+52%)

Use these as benchmarks for your own improvements.

Source Attribution

Many examples in this section are adapted from the excellent Luxor UX Principles skill by Manu Tej + Claude Code, licensed under MIT. We’ve enhanced them with:

• Human Standards documentation cross-references
• MCP server validation rule connections
• Implementation code examples
• AI code generation context

See THIRD_PARTY_LICENSES.md for full attribution.

Contributing Examples

Have a great example of human factors principles in action? We’d love to include it!

How to Document Examples

Complete framework for creating compelling case studies with before/after comparisons, hypothesis testing, metrics, and transferable lessons.

Read the full guide →

Quick Requirements:

• ✅ Specific problem with quantitative evidence
• ✅ Clear hypothesis based on human factors principles
• ✅ Implementation details with screenshots/code
• ✅ Measured impact (before/after metrics with sample sizes)
• ✅ Lessons learned and trade-offs
• ✅ Connection to Human Standards documentation

Submission:

1. Review the documentation guide
2. Fork the repository
3. Create a new file in src/content/docs/examples/
4. Use existing examples as templates
5. Submit a pull request

See CONTRIBUTING.md for general guidelines.

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